Over 90 officers and delegates from the Ecuadorian National Police Force and Ecuadorian Football Federation attended the two-day Safety and Security Seminar at the federation headquarters in Guayaquil.

'Hooliganism in English Football' began the Seminar, with Detective Superintendent Bryan Drew, Assistant Director at NCIS, giving an overview of the problems caused since the 70s by English hooligans at home and abroad.

He told the audience:  “I think it is important that we share with other countries the knowledge and experience we have gained over many years , particularly if it helps prevent football-related criminality, disorder and disasters from occurring across the globe."

John De Quidt, CEO of the Football Licensing Authority and Chris Whalley, Head of Safety, Security and Stadia at The FA then discussed the impact of the violence and disasters in the history of English football, showing some distressing photographs of the Bradford fire and Heysel in 1985, and the dreadful events at Hillsborough in 1989.

De Quidt said: “We had the disasters so we had to learn. We have come to share our experience with others but not to tell them what to do.  Our hope is that they will learn the lessons without suffering the disasters.” 

The advice was much appreciated.

“The feedback from the various delegates who have travelled from all over the country has been excellent and we are proud that we are the first country in the world to host a dedicated group of English experts to share their experiences and expertise on this very important topic of Stadium Safety and Security," said Francisco Acosta, General Secretary of the Ecuadorian Football Federation.

"Other countries in South America are learning the harsh lessons of not having taken this topic seriously and we don’t want the same to happen here. Prevention is better than cure."

The FA delegation moves to Chile on Wednesday 3rd March to deliver the same workshop to a country in serious need of assistance on this topic. Matches are regularly cancelled in the capital Santiago, due to violence in and around the stadia and rival gangs of hooligans throwing bottles and other objects onto the pitch and at players and referees.

This workshop forms part of The FA’s 2004 programme of seminars and workshops for the CONMEBOL region, which continues in April with a workshop in Lima on Tournament Organisation. Glen Kirton, Tournament Director of Euro ’96 will lead a delegation to Peru to share thoughts on this topic in advance of the country hosting the Copa America later this year and the FIFA Under-17 World Championship next year.






Click here to read the BBC's World Football Report on the trip.